JERUSALEM: At least three people were killed and four others were injured by some Palestinian attackers who were stabbed in a town near Tel Aviv and fled in a vehicle.
The police launched a massive search, blockade and chased the attackers helicopter, stabbed thursday night, is coming IsraelIndependence Day was the latest in a series of deadly attacks on Israeli cities in recent weeks.
“We will lay our hands on terrorists and their supportive environment, and they will pay the price,” Israel’s Prime Minister Naftali Bennett Said after talks with senior security officials late on Thursday night.
Israeli-Palestinian tensions have escalated recently with attacks in Israel, military operations in the occupied West Bank and violence at Jerusalem’s most sensitive holy site. The site, home of the Al Aqsa Mosque, was the scene of new unrest early Thursday.
Alon Rizkan, a physician with Israel’s Magan David Edom Rescue Service, described a “very tough call” upon arriving at the scene in Elad, an ultra-Orthodox city near Tel Aviv. He said he identified three dead people at different places. At least four others were injured, one in critical condition, officials said.
Israeli media quoted police as saying there were two attackers, and just before midnight, police said they were still searching for the attackers. He called on the public to avoid the area, and urged people to report suspicious vehicles or people.
Israel marked its Independence Day on Thursday as a festive national holiday, with people usually having barbecues and participating in air shows.
Defense Minister Benny Gantz ordered the closure of the West Bank, imposed ahead of the holiday and barred Palestinians from entering Israel, to remain in effect until Sunday.
In Washington, Secretary of State Antony Blinken said US officials “strongly condemn” the attack in Ellad.
“It was a horrific attack targeting innocent men and women, and was particularly heinous as Israel celebrated its Independence Day,” Blinken said in a statement. We are in close contact with our Israeli friends and partners and stand firmly with them in the face of this attack.
Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, whose government administers autonomous regions in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, condemned the attack.
The official Wafa news agency quoted him as saying, “The killing of Palestinian and Israeli civilians only leads to further decline as we all try to achieve stability and halt escalation.”
Palestinian militant group Hamaswho rules the Gaza Strip, praised the attack and linked it to violence at the holy site in Jerusalem.
“The attack on the Al-Aqsa Mosque cannot be spared,” Hamas spokesman Hazem Qassem said. “The heroic operation in Tel Aviv is a practical translation of what the resistance warned against.”
The Al-Aqsa Mosque complex is the third holiest site in Islam and is built on top of a hill that is the holiest site for Jews, who refer to it as the Temple Mount. It lies at the emotional heart of the conflict, and Palestinian and Israeli police have clashed there repeatedly in recent weeks.
Early Thursday, Israeli police entered the site to clear out Palestinian protesters, as Jewish visits were halted for Muslim holidays.
As visits resumed, dozens of Palestinians gathered chanting “God is great”. When the police went to arrest one, a scuffle broke out. As some Palestinians took shelter inside the mosque, police fired rubber-covered bullets over the vast area. Police could later be seen inside the entrance of the mosque with barricades.
Police said they retaliated to dozens of people who resorted to provocation and stone-pelting, and that one police officer sustained minor injuries. The Palestinian Red Crescent Emergency Service said two Palestinians were taken to hospital after being beaten with sticks.
Unlike in previous confrontations, Palestinian witnesses said there was no stone-pelting initially. When the police entered the building, some of those who took shelter inside the mosque started throwing stones and other objects. Witnesses spoke on condition of anonymity due to security concerns.
Under an informal arrangement known as the status quo, Jews are allowed to visit the site, but not pray there. In recent years, they have visited an ever-increasing number with police protection and many have prayed with caution, angering Palestinians as well as neighboring Jordan, the site’s custodian. Palestinians have long feared that Israel was planning to eventually capture the site or divide it.
Israel says it is committed to maintaining the status quo, and accuses Hamas of inciting recent violence.
It has been some of the worst bloodshed in years. At least 18 Israelis have been killed in five attacks – including stabbings in southern Israel, two other shootings in the Tel Aviv region and shootings in a West Bank settlement last weekend. About 30 Palestinians have been killed in the violence – most of whom carried out attacks or were involved in confrontations with Israeli forces in the West Bank. But an unarmed woman and a lawyer, who appear to have been shot inadvertently, were also killed.
Israel and Hamas fought an 11-day war a year earlier, which was largely affected by similar unrest in Jerusalem.
The police launched a massive search, blockade and chased the attackers helicopter, stabbed thursday night, is coming IsraelIndependence Day was the latest in a series of deadly attacks on Israeli cities in recent weeks.
“We will lay our hands on terrorists and their supportive environment, and they will pay the price,” Israel’s Prime Minister Naftali Bennett Said after talks with senior security officials late on Thursday night.
Israeli-Palestinian tensions have escalated recently with attacks in Israel, military operations in the occupied West Bank and violence at Jerusalem’s most sensitive holy site. The site, home of the Al Aqsa Mosque, was the scene of new unrest early Thursday.
Alon Rizkan, a physician with Israel’s Magan David Edom Rescue Service, described a “very tough call” upon arriving at the scene in Elad, an ultra-Orthodox city near Tel Aviv. He said he identified three dead people at different places. At least four others were injured, one in critical condition, officials said.
Israeli media quoted police as saying there were two attackers, and just before midnight, police said they were still searching for the attackers. He called on the public to avoid the area, and urged people to report suspicious vehicles or people.
Israel marked its Independence Day on Thursday as a festive national holiday, with people usually having barbecues and participating in air shows.
Defense Minister Benny Gantz ordered the closure of the West Bank, imposed ahead of the holiday and barred Palestinians from entering Israel, to remain in effect until Sunday.
In Washington, Secretary of State Antony Blinken said US officials “strongly condemn” the attack in Ellad.
“It was a horrific attack targeting innocent men and women, and was particularly heinous as Israel celebrated its Independence Day,” Blinken said in a statement. We are in close contact with our Israeli friends and partners and stand firmly with them in the face of this attack.
Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, whose government administers autonomous regions in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, condemned the attack.
The official Wafa news agency quoted him as saying, “The killing of Palestinian and Israeli civilians only leads to further decline as we all try to achieve stability and halt escalation.”
Palestinian militant group Hamaswho rules the Gaza Strip, praised the attack and linked it to violence at the holy site in Jerusalem.
“The attack on the Al-Aqsa Mosque cannot be spared,” Hamas spokesman Hazem Qassem said. “The heroic operation in Tel Aviv is a practical translation of what the resistance warned against.”
The Al-Aqsa Mosque complex is the third holiest site in Islam and is built on top of a hill that is the holiest site for Jews, who refer to it as the Temple Mount. It lies at the emotional heart of the conflict, and Palestinian and Israeli police have clashed there repeatedly in recent weeks.
Early Thursday, Israeli police entered the site to clear out Palestinian protesters, as Jewish visits were halted for Muslim holidays.
As visits resumed, dozens of Palestinians gathered chanting “God is great”. When the police went to arrest one, a scuffle broke out. As some Palestinians took shelter inside the mosque, police fired rubber-covered bullets over the vast area. Police could later be seen inside the entrance of the mosque with barricades.
Police said they retaliated to dozens of people who resorted to provocation and stone-pelting, and that one police officer sustained minor injuries. The Palestinian Red Crescent Emergency Service said two Palestinians were taken to hospital after being beaten with sticks.
Unlike in previous confrontations, Palestinian witnesses said there was no stone-pelting initially. When the police entered the building, some of those who took shelter inside the mosque started throwing stones and other objects. Witnesses spoke on condition of anonymity due to security concerns.
Under an informal arrangement known as the status quo, Jews are allowed to visit the site, but not pray there. In recent years, they have visited an ever-increasing number with police protection and many have prayed with caution, angering Palestinians as well as neighboring Jordan, the site’s custodian. Palestinians have long feared that Israel was planning to eventually capture the site or divide it.
Israel says it is committed to maintaining the status quo, and accuses Hamas of inciting recent violence.
It has been some of the worst bloodshed in years. At least 18 Israelis have been killed in five attacks – including stabbings in southern Israel, two other shootings in the Tel Aviv region and shootings in a West Bank settlement last weekend. About 30 Palestinians have been killed in the violence – most of whom carried out attacks or were involved in confrontations with Israeli forces in the West Bank. But an unarmed woman and a lawyer, who appear to have been shot inadvertently, were also killed.
Israel and Hamas fought an 11-day war a year earlier, which was largely affected by similar unrest in Jerusalem.